Rips, rocks and what to do when something goes wrong
6 min read
Rip currents
Waves push water toward the beach, and that water has to go back. It often leaves in a narrow channel between sandbars: a rip current. It can flow at 1 to 2 m/s, faster than anyone can swim, and it is the main reason lifeguards rescue people from the sea.
Drawing: Water pushed in over the bars flows back out through the gap. Surfers use it to get out, and it is the place to avoid when you are tired.
How to spot one: a gap in the line of breaking waves, a band of darker or smoother water, foam, sand or seaweed moving out.
If you are caught: do not swim against it. Swim sideways, parallel to the beach, until you are out of the flow, then head in. Or float on your back, stay calm and let it carry you past the break, where it fades, then angle in. Lifeguard services give both pieces of advice and both begin with "do not fight it".
On a board: stay on it. It floats. Wave an arm and shout if you need help.
Falling safely
Fall flat or to the side, away from the board. Never head-first in shallow water.
Cover your head with your arms and keep your body loose. Wait for the wave to let you go before you come up.
Keep the board between you and the beach in whitewater, not between you and the wave.
On a reef, keep your hands in front and stay shallow on your fall.
Use a leash, and never take your eyes off the next wave.
Rocks, cold and crowds
Check the tide before a rocky spot, and look for where the rocks are before you paddle out. A spot that works at mid can have rocks showing at low.
Cold water drains you faster than you expect. The wetsuit chart on every spot page gives the thickness by month. In cold water, stay shorter and stay close to shore.
Do not surf alone at a spot you do not know, or in conditions you have not surfed.
Lineup manners
The surfer closest to the peak, or already standing and riding, has the wave. Do not drop in on them.
Paddling back out, go around the breaking wave, not through the surfers riding it.
Hold on to your board when you fall. A loose board is a weapon.
Wait your turn. If you take off and realise someone has priority, kick out.
Say sorry when you get it wrong, and say hello when you get in. It matters more than the wave.